“All we know is that he was a partner in a law firm and was corporate services director in a small municipality in KwaZulu-Natal with a budget of just R33 million. Mbombela’s budget is R2 billion and it has more than 1 200 staff members … I doubt he has the experience of a bigger municipality,” Koster said.

Mbombela’s last full-time municipal manager was Jacob Dladla who was fired in 2009 on five misconduct charges related to the stadium tender.

Dladla’s name has since been cleared after the ANC in the Ehlanzeni region instructed its councillors last year to pass a resolution to drop all five charges against Dladla and pay him a R1.5-million golden handshake.

The municipality said it avoided spending about R13 million in legal costs by settling with Dladla. Dladla had challenged his dismissal in the Labour Court.